Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of Six-Degree-Of-Freedom Piecewise Simulation Of Aircraft Motion In Simulink, Subodh Bhandari

Theses and Dissertations

A six-degree-ofreedom piecewise simulation of aircraft motion is developed in SIMULINK. Using a mathematical model of fixed-wing aircraft, the simulation is used to observe the longitudinal and lateral-directional motions of the aircraft following a pilot input. The mathematical model is in state-space form and uses aircraft stability and control derivatives calculated from the aircraft geometric and aerodynamic characteristics. The simulation takes into account the changed speed and altitude due to pilot input and demonstrates the non-linearity of the aircraft motion due to change in speed and altitude. The results from the simulation are compared with the known results to validate …

Methanogenic Generation Of Biogas From Synthesis-Gas Fermentation Wastewaters, Katherine Ann Taconi

Theses and Dissertations

As societies around the world become increasingly more dependent on fossil based fuels, the need to investigate alternative fuel sources becomes more pressing. Renewable, biomass-based carbon sources obtained from the biosphere can be gasified to produce synthesis gas, which can in turn be fermented to produce fuel-grade ethanol. A byproduct of ethanol production via fermentation is acetic acid. An optimized ethanol fermentation process should produce a wastewater stream containing less than 2 g/L of acetic acid. This is not enough acid to justify recovery of the acid; however it is a high enough concentration that treatment of the stream is …

In-Situ Lead Immobilization Using Phosphate Based Binders, Jason Ellis Darnell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the optimum phosphate treatment method to stabilize lead contaminated soil from a firing range. Seven different phosphate sources at five different concentrations were added to soil collected from a firing range on a military base. A series of tests were performed to determine a generic phosphate treatment method. The selected generic phosphate treatment was compared to an untreated control soil sample and to four commercially available treatments provided by invited vendors selected from industry. The four vendors processes, control, and generic treatments were subjected to a series of physical and chemical tests …

Production Of Ethanol From The Fermentation Of Synthesis Gas, Christine Evon Morrison

Theses and Dissertations

Ethanol produced from lignocellulosic agricultural products and waste is an environmentallyriendly alternative to petroleum-derived fuel. Lignocellulosic biomass is gasified producing synthesis gas, which is composed of CO, CO2, and H2. Synthesis gas is fermented via anaerobic biocatalyst. The bacterium was grown in a fructose-rich medium then concentrated in ethanol production medium for synthesis gas fermentation. While the known ethanol-producing bacterium Clostridium ljungdahlii was used to provide baseline values for synthesis gas utilization and ethanol production, synthesis gas fermentation were conduced with a culture discovered at Mississippi State University. Additionally, efforts were made to isolate other anaerobic cultures capable of fermenting …

Production Of Acetic Acid From The Fermentation Of Synthesis Gas, Jackson Walker Ford

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years economic, environmental, and strategic concerns over the use of petroleum resources have led to increased interest in renewable resources. Biomass gasification produces a synthesis gas composed of primarily carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide, which can be fermented into a variety of fuels and chemicals. This study evaluated the performance of a two-stage approach to batch synthesis gas fermentations. The first stage employs a rich medium optimized for cell growth, while the second stage is designed to maximize production of acetic acid from synthesis gas. This two-stage approach is hypothesized to be more metabolically efficient than previous …

The Virtual Intermodal Transportation System (Vits), Aaron C. Tan

Theses and Dissertations

Available tools are insufficient to provide the needed systemwide view for planning future freight transportation systems based on the coordinated use of more than one mode of transportation. Many existing tools are either mode specific (they only address a single mode of transportation) or too microscopic in scope (they address only detailed traffic flows or facility operations). No comprehensive tool exists that considers the level of performance of the total system, which is important due to the many interdependencies that exist between the different modes of transportation. In some cases, optimizing just a particular component of the transportation network could …

The Effects Of Shear Deformation On Chondrogenesis, Kori Vasser Brabham

Theses and Dissertations

Due to mechanical loading, cartilage experiences distortional change, volumetric change, and fluid flow. Research has shown cells to be responsive to unconfined compression, a load that produces all three conditions. To isolate the factor(s) responsible for chondrogenesis, the first goal of this research was to design and implement a device for the application of shear deformation to cells. Secondly, using this device, Stage 23/24 chick limb bud cells were suspended in 2% alginate and subjected to 20% shear deformation at 1 Hz. for two hours daily for three days. Gene expression, DNA content, sGAG content, and cartilage nodule formation were …

Synthesis Of A Serially Complete And Homogeneous Evaporation Data Set For The Southeastern Region Of The United States, Christopher Lee Bell

Theses and Dissertations

Daily pan evaporation data are poorly collected. This thesis uses different methods to correct these inadequate data, and make them usuable for many scientific purposes. Nine Southeastern region states with a total of 83 evaporation sites were chosen to represent the study region. These data were corrected to be serially complete and homogeneously sound for the entire stations' period of record. After the data corrections were made, temporal and spatial analyses were completed. These analyses help display the functionality of these corrected data. This study provides an enhanced understanding of the evaporation regime of the Southeastern region and makes an …

Speech/Language And Social Behavior Performance As Predictors Of Literacy Acquisition In Children With Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effects, Kristen Ann Runge

Theses and Dissertations

This study was a review of existing case files and focused on the struggles of one particular segment of the special needs student population and the challenges that educators face as they attempt to engage them in meaningful learning experiences. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAS/FAE) are completely preventable; yet, their presence in classrooms remains high and bears profound implications for educators. This study examined the specific relationships between FAS/FAE and literacy acquisition in children. Specific variables of children with FAS/FAE were considered. They included IQ, speech/language development, and social behavior performance.

Hypotheses guiding this study were the following:

1. Evidence …

Constructions Of Female Identities In Mary Gordon's The Other Side And Maureen Howard's Before My Time, Neli Gogovska

Theses and Dissertations

In Women's Time Kristeva designates three broad currents of feminist struggle: first, the suffragist movement declaring a universalist view of women's experience regardless of class, age, and cultures; second, the phase of difference, that she regards as "returning to an archaic (mythic) memory as well as cyclical or monumental temporality of marginal movements" (355); and third, a trend that she wholeheartedly supports for their concept that "the dichotomy of man and woman as an opposition of two rival entities is a problem of metaphysics" (366).

This thesis discusses Howard and Gordon as proponents of the second phase because they write …

Love, Laughter, And Lessons: What A Canine Brought To A Classroom For Students With Severe Emotional Disorders, Katherine L. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether having a dog as a member of a self-contained classroom for students diagnosed with severe emotional disorders held benefits for these students. This study provided an opportunity to explain or predict the effects that a dog had on students’ emotional well-being and learning in the school setting.

The methods and procedures for this study were qualitatively collected and analyzed. This study was considered a case study, because it explored a bounded system over time through detailed, in-depth data collection, which involved observations, student interviews, and parent interviews. The broad research question …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Let Me Learn And Process Writing: A Qualitative Analysis, Grace D. Hagan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research project was to examine the relationship between Let Me Learn and process writing. Christine A. Johnston's Let Me Learn Inventory was administered to a middle school class of 27 students, and 8 students were selected with use-first learning patterns in each of the four learning pattern categories. Once the 8 students were selected, the students participated in interviews with questions regarding their learning patterns and writing process style. The researcher then collected three writing samples from each student as well as a novel project. Upon completion of the data collection, the writing samples were analyzed …

The Organizational Analysis Of Non-Governmental Development Organizations (Ngdos), Urelmaa Tsolmon

Theses and Dissertations

This paper uses the current organizational ecology theory to clearly define organizational population ecology constructs of non-governmental development organizations, and offers specific terminology and understanding of main organizational forms and relational dynamics that define the population ecology of these organizations. The paper examines closely the significance of such interaction and interdependence through transactional relationship of obtaining and distributing of resources and forces of competition. Original organizational theory frameworks are offered for future NGDO organizational research.

The Role Of Vocabulary Size In Assessing Second Language Vocabulary, Kevin John Zimmerman

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the role of vocabulary size in assessing learners from various L1 backgrounds and for institutional placement. Participants included native speakers of Spanish, Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin, who took a test that estimated the size of their productive English vocabulary. First, the vocabulary size of students from each language group was compared and the relationship between vocabulary size and institutional placement level was examined. Then, scores were analyzed to determine how cognates and loan words influenced the participants' performance on the vocabulary test. Further, students' vocabulary size scores were correlated with their placement scores that evaluated reading, writing, …

Melioration And The Behavioral Addiction Process: An Experimental Analysis, Jared Micah Dinehart

Theses and Dissertations

Melioration can be a factor contributing to behavioral addiction. In this study, 76 university undergraduates operated a "money machine" by selecting between choices that corresponded to maximization and melioration. Participants initially made choices consistent with a strategy of melioration and demonstrated significantly greater variability in choice behavior when visual cues were presented aimed at exposing the internality (or consequence) of the choice situation. Removal of the visual cues resulted in a return to lower responding. Visual cues may aid in interrupting the behavioral addiction pattern by limiting exclusive use of a melioration choice strategy. Methods of restructuring and experimentation with …

Pressurized Hot Water: An Alternative Method Of Nutrient Extraction And Subsequent Analysis For Use In Small-Scale Agriculture, Kristy Susanne Crane

Theses and Dissertations

Soil analysis for small acreage farms in developing countries is often inconvenient and prohibitively expensive using current procedures, yet the information gained from these soil tests could have economical and environmental benefits. The pressurized hot-water (PHW) extraction coupled with colorimetric or turbidimetric analyses shows promise as an alternative to current procedures. Accepted methods of colorimetric analysis for NO3-N and P exist but an alternative method to atomic absorption spectrometry for K analysis is needed. Of the many possible methods to quantify K, tests performed in the Brigham Young University (BYU) laboratory found sodium tetraphenylborate to be unsatisfactory and sodium cobaltinitrite …

The Application Of Pedology, Stable Carbon Isotope Analyses And Geographic Information Systems To Ancient Soil Resource Investigations At Piedras Negras, Guatemala, Kristofer Dee Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The ancient inhabitants of the Maya Lowlands enjoyed a long and fruitful period of growth which climaxed at around AD 800. At that time, millions of people successfully subsisted in a challenging environment that today only supports a population a fraction of that size. These facts, and the subsequent "Maya Collapse", are the impetus of many recent studies that utilize environmental data, in addition to conventional archaeology, to investigate this Maya mystery. Pedological studies and stable carbon isotope analysis of soil organic matter, combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are three tools that can be used to answer crucial questions …

Hiring Practices For Graphic Designers In Utah County, Utah, Landon T. Densley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to show how hiring standards of evidence for graphic designers in Utah County compared with the national standards of evidence. The four major national standards of evidence for hiring graphic designers, identified by American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and Goldfarb, in order of importance are portfolio, recommendations, personality, and education. The data from this study revealed that Utah County employer's standards of evidence matched up closely to national standards of evidence, but the order of importance was slightly different because personality was ranked ahead of recommendations and education.

Communities, Place, And Conservation On Mount Kilimanjaro, Marie Bradshaw Durrant

Theses and Dissertations

The Chagga people have lived and worked on Mount Kilimanjaro for more than 250 years. Through traditions and social practices within their communities and families, strong bonds are established between the Chagga and their home on the mountain. Kilimanjaro National Park and Forest Reserve (KINAPA) was established in the 1970s to protect and conserve the mountain, based on a long history of colonialism and western ideals. As KINAPA has attempted to preserve the flora and fauna on the uppermost portion of Mount Kilimanjaro, they have alienated local residents from the land through a conservation approach that relies on "fences and …

A Hydrothermal After-Ripening Time Model Of Seed Dormancy Loss In Bromus Tectorum, Necia Beck Bair

Theses and Dissertations

After-ripening, the process of seed dormancy loss in dry storage is associated with a decrease in the mean base water potential, one of the parameters of hydrothermal time. The rate of change of the mean base water potential is assumed to be a linear function of temperature above a specific base temperature and as a result can be described by a thermal after-ripening (TAR) time model, an extension of hydrothermal modelling. The thermal requirement for after-ripening is the thermal time necessary for the modelling base water potential of the seed to shift from its original value to its final value. …

Blank Pages Of The Holocaust: Gypsies In Yugoslavia During World War Ii, Elizabeta Jevtic

Theses and Dissertations

After a general overview of the persecution of Gypsies (Roma) during World War II, this thesis focuses on the situation of Gypsies on the territory of Serbia and Croatia. The two republics are chosen because of their unique structures during the years 1941 to 1945. Both republics had puppet regimes set up by Germany; however, Croatia was an ally to Germany and strove to mirror the Third Reich in all its policies. The regime's head, Ante Pavelic, was known as one of the most brutal and merciless men on the territory of Yugoslavia, and with him Croatian paramilitary forces committed …

A Cost Effective Approach To Taxonomic Resolution For Bioassessment And Monitoring Programs In The State Of Georgia, Jodi Alene Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The Georgia Ecoregions Reference Sites Project has developed biological criteria for streams in Georgia according to the Rapid Bioassessment Protocols For Wadeable Streams and Rivers. Streams will ultimately be classified into categories of impairment so that management decisions can be made in accordance with the Clean Water Act. A cost-effective approach to accomplish mandates set forth by the Clean Water Act must be employed, as state budgets are limited. One means of examining costs is to assess taxonomic resolution. Taxonomic resolution not only assesses the sensitivity of biocriteria, it also allows one to make recommendations to state agencies regarding the …

The Effect Of Different-Sex And Same-Sex Cooperative Learning Groups On Achievement, Jennifer L. Olshefski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of different-sex and same-sex cooperative learning groups on the achievement of fourth grade students. The subjects for this study are nineteen fourth grade students in a regular education classroom in a southern New Jersey elementary school. The students worked in cooperative learning groups during science period. The academic performance of the same-sex cooperative learning groups and the different-sex cooperative learning groups was assessed through student artifacts/work, anecdotal notes/observations, teacher research journal, and a student end-of-study questionnaire. A qualitative approach was used to analyze the data, which revealed that students in …

Treatment Of Hypertriglyceridemia With Omega-3 Fatty Acids: A Systematic Review, Amanda Gloria Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To 1) critically appraise available randomized controlled trials (RTCs) addressing the efficacy of long-chain ω-3 fatty acids as a secondary prevention agent of hypertriglyceridemia, and 2) make recommendations for clinical practice.

Data Sources: All RCTs identified from several databases from 1993-2003 were reviewed by two independent reviewers who extracted data from each study and used the previously tested Boyack and Lookinland Methodological Quality Index (MQI) to determine study quality.

Results: Ten studies reported long-chain ω-3 fatty acids to be effective in the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia. The average decrease in triglycerides (TG) was 29%, total cholesterol (TC) 11.6%, very low …

Pressurized Hot Water And Dtpa-Sorbitol, Viable Alternatives For Soil Boron Extraction, Amanda Kathryn Shiffler

Theses and Dissertations

Pressurized hot water and DTPA-Sorbitol are two relatively new soil boron (B) extraction methods with potential to replace the cumbersome hot water extraction. The objective of this research is to produce data in support of acceptance or rejection of these two alternative B extractions. The three soil tests were used to extract B from samples of calcareous sand and silt loam and limed, loamy fine sand treated with 10 levels of B and incubated for 7 and 28 d. As B application increased so did extractable B with each extraction method. High correlations (r of 0.977 to 0.999) were observed …

Use Of Online Technologies By Higher Education Public Relations Practitioners And Practitioners' Perceived Preference For Their Use By Their Institutions' Audiences, Mary Elizabeth Erwin Hegel

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the use of online technologies by university public relations specialists, and the PR professionals' perceived preference for their use by media, internal and external audiences. The research also looked at other aspects of online technology use by university practitioners such as Web site content and emerging technologies.

The researcher collected primary data through a cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire, designed for this study. The author gathered information for the survey from a literature review of Rowan University databases, scholarly journals, books and Internet searches. The survey contained Likert scale type questions, …

Amusement Park Crisis Management And Its Effect On The Crisis News Life Cycle, Kristin B. Siebeneicher

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate whether effective amusement park crisis management can shorten the crisis news life cycle. Twenty-two in-depth interviews with seasoned media, amusement park public relations practitioners, and park PR practitioners who formerly worked in media were conducted and analyzed through content analysis. Coverage of an amusement ride incident was analyzed through content analysis to support interview findings. Numerous strategies are identified to build a foundation for effective crisis management, and to shorten the duration of crisis news coverage. Differences in managing print media versus television media are discussed. The thesis identifies amusement park incident …

Overcoming Resistance To Change: An Analysis To The Department Of Defense's Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program, Irene C. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to investigate the impact of change on organizations, in the absence of a preparedness program and to develop strategies for overcoming resistance to change, in the midst of a proposed initiative that has become stalled as a result of mistrust and cynicism. The results of this research suggests a framework of management techniques that will offer leadership approaches to resurrecting a stalled change initiative and overcoming personnel's resistance to a proposed change project, in order for the project to be more widely accepted. A series of personal interviews and focus groups, a qualitative method …

Conduct, Learning, And Substance Use Disorders In An Adolescent Male: A Case Study, Dana F. Wales

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to examine best practice interventions for an individual diagnosed with Conduct, Learning, and Substance Use Disorders. Empirically supported research was evaluated and compared to normative practices of the agency where the client resided. The intervention process included a psychosocial assessment, Differential Diagnosis as well as multiple levels of intervention. Outcome measures were used to assess depression, anxiety, and coping skills. However, a lack of cooperation and follow through by the client and his family invalidated these measures. Clinical observations and staff reports indicated that the overall intervention had mixed results with this client. …

A Study To Determine If Multimedia Technologies In A Regular Classroom Enhance Learning And Motivation, Carol Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of infusing multimedia technologies in a regular classroom. The purpose of this study was also to demonstrate that with the use of technology, the students would better understand the important concepts covered in the social studies unit, as well as be motivated to learn.

Thirty sixth grade students conducted research using wireless laptops to find information about a prominent African-American who has made a positive contribution to our society. The control group created an oral presentation and constructed a replica in the form of a doll to represent their person. …